Fast forward to the present, I am pleased to have received an email a few days ago expressing an interest in one of my foster kitties, and included in this email was the above link, to the show that had aired almost a month ago. I was pleasantly surprised to see the link as I had not seen the show and from a tv viewer's perspective; I was in the studio during the broadcast to ensure that no wild cats would be running loose in the Michelin Building... haha ... something about the word 'wild'... feral cats I like.
During the interview, and I must say I was impressed at how well-behaved my kitties were, Jack Roper mentions an unbelievable story about a cat and how he escaped through the chimney. Short synopsis, the cat had recently been adopted and when brought to its new home, something scarred it and up the chimney he went - maybe he was just practicing for Santa...haha
Anyway, good news and what prompted this blogpost, is I got an email tonight telling that the people who had adopted this escaped-chimney-cat have located the cat and have been feeding it, however it has been living in the chimney still, and has done about $300 worth of damage so that the insulation will have to be replaced. I must say in defense of our feral feline group, I've never heard of anything like this happening and so I would assume that this is a rare occurrence. Although I would consider myself a feral cat expert in comparison to your average Jo (pun intended), hindsight I learned something valuable in this interview with a feral cat.
(1) Christmas is probably not a good time to introduce a new pet to the house. Christmas trees and cats! haha That's a different blogpost subject for another time.
(2) Feral cats typically attach to one person in the home - I've never given this much consideration as I've always been the only cat-person in the house; the only one liking cats so the only one interacting with the cat. btw - my family typically doesn't understand me and asks why do I do the things I do? Hence the title for this blogpost.
And now for the subject or should I say the main character of this blogpost:
Chase the cat See picture of Chase
I had a similar experience this week concerning the adoption of a feral cat.
Chase the cat, whom I rescued from Augusta Street about a year ago, has been living with the pack until a little over a month ago when I had him neutered. I then decided to keep him separate indefinitely in order to get him ready for a new home. Note the word 'pack'. Pack = I have more than one cat.
So earlier this week, Chase and I went on an interview to a potential new home for Chase.
Wow, he went nuts... and maybe I should clarify this. Chase ran back and forth, back and forth kinda' like a squirrel does in the road, and then finally he went under the couch. There was a fire burning in the fireplace I might add so the chimney I guess was not an option haha. After an hour of me on the floor and calling to the cat under the couch, the head of household picked up the couch and I grabbed the Chase. Not what I expected and certainly not what this unsuspecting family had anticipated. As they put it, "We were hoping to get a cat for our cat, and one that would be friendly and chilled." I suspect that the singing of the dishwasher and the boom of the high tech tv system didn't help.
I should have better prepared my potential adoptee family with pointers on how to proceed with this adoption. Live and learn.
Cute movie the family was watching. They were watching the movie "Up" and if you've seen the introduction, a most appropriate movie for my visit. The movie "Up" has a quick cartoon in the beginning that shows storks delivering babies to door steps.
The family was not opposed to adopting an almost adult cat however upon my exit they were wavering in deciding that maybe a kitten would be better suited for their needs. I honestly think it was just this particular cat and so I left with the arrangement that we could give it one more try and with one of my other adoptable felines.
My lesson in all of this: I did learn something and not until after I watched the video of Tracey and my foster kitties on the Your Carolina Show, did it click in my head. Something she said, "feral = bonds with one person" and in my honest and humble attempt to get this cat Chase ready for a new home, what I did do is yes, ensure him a home, a home with me.
When we got back home that night, the cat and I, Chase was like "Meow, huh, what did I do?? Meow purrrrrrr, please pet me and feed me" and all this communicating with his flipping tail while knocking everything off my dresser. I guess I am now the bond-with-one-person and fittingly so, I too, am attached.
So to answer the question: Why Do I Do the Things I Do?
No reason as being defined: the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgements by a process of logic. Key word here is mind and the simple answer to the question is: I follow my heart.
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